Taking a trip
by cait83
Summary: This is a freshie fic. Ari is upset and ends up leaving LA
1. Chapter 1

Author notes: Ari is my RP character. This takes off after an event in RP and leads to her leaving LA for a while.

Rated R for safety

Disclaimer: If you recognize it then I don't own it. Ari is mine though, as well as Sienna. Any resemblance between them and any living, dead or fictional characters is purely coincidental! The other characters belong to their creators and owners. No copyright infringement intended in any way or form.

Comments are still the only food my muses accept so please... send any comments you have, good or bad.

* * *

_Mick gives Ari a nasty look__ "I really wish you wouldn't call me that. I know you think it's cute and all, but my Mom used to call me Mickey. It brings back a lot of memories I'd rather just leave alone_."

The words echo in her head as she paces around in her apartment. The memory of that nasty look makes her cringe as if stung by a thousand needles and tears well up in her eyes. Frustrated she wipes them away and abruptly turns the other way. Mick had never acted like that towards her before. Not once during the past year had he ever looked at her like that. It hurt. For the past year, Mick had been her safe haven. The calm when her life was storming. She'd never heard him as much as raise his voice around her and now this.

Her first reaction as she rushed out of his apartment had been to go find Josef. He made her feel safe. That frightened her. That her first thought had been to go find comfort with a man, a vampire male. Sure she'd gone to see Mick sometimes in the past when she'd been upset but it had never been her first instinct. For some reason, Josef had become that important to her. That much of a safe haven that even though they weren't as close as she and Mick was, or had been, she still wanted to go to him. She wanted to go to Josef. Besides Mick there was now another safe haven for her. A place where she felt even more at home, even safer than she did at Mick's and that was over at the Casa with Josef.

She turned again, so abruptly that she almost tripped over Chiara who was following her. Chiara was upset that her mother seemed so upset and was now following Ari around as she paced, watching over her. Ari looked down at Chiara and picked her up, nuzzling the soft fur at the cat's neck.

"What am I going to do now, cutie?" she whispered. Once again the words echoed through her head.

"He hurt me… why would he do that? And why do I want Josef? What am I going to do?" she whispered the words into Chiara's fur.

If Josef was that important, maybe it was time to start thinking about exclusivity. She already knew she probably wouldn't be feeding another vampire unless maybe a female. But, if she did go exclusive she couldn't go home if the situation with Karl was resolved. She had Swedish Dawn, but she had always thought she'd close up shop and head back to Sweden if Karl was to disappear from the equation. Now she wasn't so sure.

She stopped in front of a window and stared out with unseeing eyes. She had to think about this. Really think. Frustrated she ran her fingers through her hair and looked around her. She needed space, needed time to think, time away from everything to clear her mind. Without giving herself time to change her mind she dropped Chiara by the window and hurried into her bedroom to start packing clothes. She called her friend Sienna to come pick Chiara up, grabbed her passport and wallet and then walked out. She took a cab to the airport and bought a ticket for the first plane leaving LA. She would disappear for a while, clear her mind, and when she got back she would know what to do.

_To be continued_


	2. Chapter 2

Author notes: Ari is my RP character. This takes off after an event in RP and leads to her leaving LA for a while. Final part

Rated R for safety

Disclaimer: If you recognize it then I don't own it. Ari is mine though, as well as Sienna. Any resemblance between them and any living, dead or fictional characters is purely coincidental! The other characters belong to their creators and owners. No copyright infringement intended in any way or form.

Comments are still the only food my muses accept so please... send any comments you have, good or bad.

* * *

She stared out over the ocean. Soft waves floating over her feet and her toes buried in the grainy sand. She had been there a few days and already she was longing to go back. Aching to be close to her friends again, her new family. The peace of the place wasn't completely wasted on her, but it was darn close. She loved the light and the amazing colors of the sun setting over a calm ocean. The soft breeze moving over her skin, the air just warm enough that she could stand in her bikini top and sarong without being chilly and yet not so warm it got annoying.

She sighed a little. The past few days she had kept herself busy. She had gone to see the LOTR sites, been swimming with dolphins, surfing and a bunch of other stuff. Anything to keep her mind busy, to keep from having to think or feel anything. At first she had just wanted to get away. Needed the break. She had taken off without leaving word to anyone, just asked Sienna to take care of Chiara. Once she reached the airport she had asked for the first ticket out of there and, after a spring to the gate, had found herself on a plane to Chicago. When the plane landed she had a plan in place.

She had made sure Josef knew where she was, had given Jacque instructions on what to do with the restaurant and then booked herself on the first plane to New Zealand. She had always wanted to go there. Well, always was a bit far stretched, but ever since she had seen the Lord of the Rings movies she had wanted to go there. To see what it really looked like. Especially since she had heard some of the sets were still there for the public to visit.

Reaching New Zealand she had rented herself a beach cabin and a car then gone off on adventure. Kept herself busy. Her time was running out though. She couldn't stay away forever, she couldn't shy away from the thoughts any longer. They kept coming back. Mostly at night. Times when she was alone and had nothing to do but let her mind wander.

She missed her friends, the amazing women she had gotten to know after joining them as a freshie. The women she now called sisters. Mostly, though, she missed Josef. Missed his snarkiness, missed how he managed to make her feel safe and excited all at the same time. Missed how alive he made her feel, how safe and cared for.

The questions were coming at a rapid pace now. All those questions she had been keeping at bay came flooding in now that she'd let the wall down.

Why had Mick said that? Why did it hurt so much? What did it mean that she wanted to seek comfort with Josef? A man?

A part of her knew that Mick had most likely not meant that to be hurtful. Mick wouldn't hurt her deliberately. On some level, she knew he would rather hurt himself than her or any of the girls but the fact was he had. He had hurt her. The one person she had been sure would never fail her, had hurt her. She sighed and wrapped her arms around her waist as she kicked some sand into the ocean.

She didn't know what to make out of that. She trusted him. She did. There was just something that had changed, had shifted in their relationship now. Something that made her less inclined to go to him like she would have in the past. One reason for that shift was Josef.

She knew with perfect clarity what both Mick and Josef were and yet she trusted them. Mick had hurt her, yes, but the trust was still there. Josef, however, had never hurt her. He was snarky and fun, had a hardness to him that should've scared her but she knew he would never be that way with her unless she gave him a reason to. Something she knew she never would which was why she knew she could trust him.

In her heart, she knew she cared for him. More than she had thought she'd ever care for a man. She trusted him completely. Something she had never thought would happen. That she could trust a man that much. She knew, without a doubt, that he would never fall in love with her, that her time with him would be constricted, and she was content with that. She didn't want that kind of relationship. She didn't think she would ever want that.

She did want friendship, closeness, and Josef offered that. If she stayed with him he would do his best to protect her. Keep her safe. He would be a friend, a confidant and he would give her the closeness she craved while feeding from her.

Only problem… if she stayed, she would be a sitting duck. Karl would eventually figure out where she was and come for her. Also, if she stayed with Josef, she would want to be his exclusive, would want to tie herself to him. That meant staying in LA. If the thing with Karl was ever resolved, the plan had always been to return home to her family. But, as Josef's exclusive she would have to stay in LA, continue to stay away from her family even after the threat was gone and they were safe. Could she do that? Did she care that much for Josef and the girls that she could give up her family for them?

She sighed and ran her fingers through her hair and then a small smile started to spread and she knew the answer was easy. The more she thought about it, the more she realized she wanted to stay. She wanted to be Josef's exclusive, to put her faith and her life in his hands. To stay with those amazing women she called sisters, her new family. With them she wouldn't feel so lonely, and it wasn't like she was giving up her family completely. Once it was safe again, she could go back and visit them.

The time with Josef would be limited. She knew she would only be able to be his freshie for a short time of her life. Eventually, her body would fail her or he would ask her to leave for a different reason. When that happened, she could return to Sweden to seek comfort in her biological family. Until then, she wanted what time she could get with Josef and her family in LA.

With the decision firm in her mind she smiled brightly. A calm entering her, now that she knew what to do. With one last look out over the ocean she returned to her cabin and started packing and make preparations. Calling the number she had gotten to reach Josef, she left a message on his voice mail.

"I'm coming home. Is there a chance I could get to talk to you when I get there?"


End file.
